China’s currency is the RMB or Ren Min Bi. You can get around 14RMB for every £1 you exchange…and as any travel guide will tell you, it’s very important to always remember the relative value of something that you’re buying on your trip…and with this in mind I’ve been doing a lot of calculations in my head (errrr what’s 360 divided by 14 again?!)

But no longer. No longer am I a slave to the international currency markets – I don’t need to be, because I have a new currency which has quickly become the ‘go-to’ relative price index for China. Ladies and Gentlemen, behold:

The Reeb Min Bi.

As you may remember, the local Shanghai beer is called ‘Reeb’, and tastes GREAT! It’s also around 16p per 660ml bottle…so three of those bad boys and I’m anyone’s for the night. Since finding this national treasure, I’ve found it difficult to enjoy spending money on say…a drink in a bar, without constantly calculating how many Reebs I could be buying for the same money. Another example:

Papa John’s. On the day I got my temporary residence permit, we decided to celebrate with a little taste of home…and what says home better than the ‘Land and Sea’ pizza from Papa John’s, which includes: Ham, prawns, pineapple, mushrooms and peas. Ok it’s a bit of a weird mix but believe me, it hit the spot. Overall, the meal came to around 190rmb or 86 . EIGHTY-SIX REEB MIN BI?! Even if a pizza was made of Kate Moss before the crack it still wouldn’t be worth eighty-six bottles of delicious beer!

That’s what the Reeb Min Bi gives you: context. Now I’ve stopped thinking ‘that bowl of curried pork with rice is so cheap at 25rmb’ and realised that at 11 , it better be a tasty god damn cut of meat to be worth it.

I welcome you to use the Reeb Min Bi in your daily lives, and see how it changes your perspective on shopping and the world in general. Wo ai ni, .